Villagers all fired up for Big Top concert
Groove Tube with Jimi McDonnell – [email protected]
In the studio, Villagers excel, but in concert they simply soar. Audiences can check just how good they are, when the band play the Arts Festival Big Top on Tuesday, July 19, as part of a winning double bill with Mick Flannery.
When the Groove Tube last spoke to Conor O’Brien, in 2009, he had just released Villagers’ debut EP. Seven years later, he has toured all over the world, won a Choice Prize and two hugely prestigious Ivor Novello Awards. When he began this project, did he anticipate such success?
“I’m a bit of a space cadet, so I just tend to think one step at a time,” he says. “I kind of find it hard to see past the next week. It’s the kind of thing where I just focus on working, really.”
“I definitely wasn’t anticipating it. I mean, I’ve always had a really strong belief in my writing. It’s the one part of my life where it’s a staple, I’m always fully committed to it and I’m constantly working at it. So . . . yes and no, I guess! Does that make sense?”
The craft in Conor O’Brien’s music is evident in each new Villagers’ record. His lyrics, in particular, set him apart. Does he always have ideas on the boil, or does he set aside time to write?
“When I’m not touring, I tend to work every day except weekends,” he says. “I try and keep normal work hours, but sometimes I’ll get up at 10 and work until midnight. I go through pockets of intense work. When I come back, I can usually see it for what it is, and figure out what will stick and what won’t.”
Conor recorded most of 2015’s Darling Arithmetic by himself, and is following a similar path with his new songs, albeit with more synths and electronics.
“Up until the last couple of months I’d just been making sounds and noises, and grooves, sort of having some fun with that,” he says. “Getting to know some new toys. In the last couple of months, much to my annoyance, the acoustic guitar has started to become the centre again. I can’t help it. I don’t know why! I’m connected to that instrument.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune